The ys100 was my first keyboard. I bought it second hand for $AUD 500 in 1992. I bought it mainly as a MIDI keyboard for recording/sequencing on an Amiga 500. It has a good keyboard, full-sized keys (5 octave) with velocity, and a pitch bend and modulation wheel. Today in 2010, 18 years later, the Amiga has been replaced by windows, but the ys100 is still my midi input keyboard. 2 keys got a little broken in transport once. But i can live with it as those 2 keys still trigger. The pitch wheel got a bit sqeaky after a few years of no-use, just need to open the case and oil it i think. The sounds where good for experimental electronic music.

Rating: 3 out of 5
posted Thursday-Mar-04-2010 at 19:10

Harald
a hobbyist user
from Sweden
writes:

Well... It´s not a bad synth at all but i wouldn´t consider the bass 100%, rather 50%. The TX81Z has more depth in the bass. The build quality is 25%, like a cheap home keyboard! The YS100 is n o t a PRO synth! The good things: Nice clear sound. An effects unit that sounds good. The keyboard feels soft but sturdy. Fast edit of the sounds. Buy one but don´t pay to much...

Rating: 3 out of 5
posted Thursday-Feb-17-2005 at 03:20

mister_beat
from Germany
writes:

The YS 100 is one of the best 4-OP-FM-Synths ever produced.

You only have access to a few parameters which make it some kind of easy-edit-FM-synth. Only via Midi you get full access. There is a complete DX11 inside with an additional FX-Section. Most of the effects are crap compared to an external FX-Unit (especially Distortion) and it lacks a chorus. If you want to immitate a chorus effect, you have to detune two sounds (that use the same midi-channel) in multitimbral-mode which reduces the polyphony from 8 to 4 voices. So you better use an external chorus.

I don't like most of the preset sounds. With a little tweaking you get MUCH better sounds.

By the way: I wish I had bought the V50!

In 13 years the YS 100 let me down two times:

First the headphone jack had to be repaired and a few years later the complete synth stopped working! Some integrated cicuits had to be replaced. But they were no longer available from Yamaha. The instrument was already to old. After several months my music shop finally found someone to repair it.

Rating: 3 out of 5
posted Tuesday-Nov-04-2003 at 07:52

sreedhar menon
a hobbyist user
from india
writes:

posted Saturday-Jan-18-2003 at 13:22

jody
a professional user
from UK
writes:

My first ever keyboard which has served me fantastically well, 10 years on. Great little piece of kit which has some brilliant pre-programmed sounds and a fabulous responsive keypad. Would recommend to both part-time and full time musicians